Storm Advance to GAC Title Game

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Southeastern used a three home run third inning to pick up a 7-4 win over Ouachita Baptist in the Great American Conference Tournament semifinals, earning the program's fourth trip to the GAC title game scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Bentonville, Ark.
 
The win improves the Savage Storm to 29-27 and earns a chance to face Arkansas Tech at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in Bentonville, Ark., for a conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA DII Central Regional.
 
The finals appearance is the team's fourth in eight years, but the first since the 2014 tournament which was the third-straight finals for the Storm.
 
Elexis Watson, Katie McCullar, and Ivy Amador each collected a pair of hits, while Symphoni Shomo, Keeshia Thompson, Mykaela Wallace, Hope Deanda, and Kamarie Wallace each added one.
 
Watson, Mykaela Wallace, and Kamarie Wallace each homered, while Thompson and McCullar each doubled.
 
Kamarie Wallace finished with three RBI in the contest, while Mykaela Wallace drove in two. Watson and Destiny Riddle plated one apiece.
 
McCullar got the start and collected the win after allowing three runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched with a pair of strikeouts.
 
Emily Cudd tossed 1.1 innings in relief, allowing a run on a hit while striking out three.
 
Southeastern struck first in the top of the first as Shomo reached on an error and stole second before moving to third on a passed ball.  Riddle then laid down a squeeze bunt to plate Shomo for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Storm exploded in the top of the third inning as Watson led off with a solo homer to double the lead to 2-0.
 
Three batters later Mykaela Wallace would connect on a two-run homer that also scored McCullar, but not to be outdone her sister Kamarie Wallace would follow suit later in the inning with a three-run blast to bring home Hope Deanda and Ivy Amador for a 7-0 lead.
 
Both teams would strand runners without scoring in the fourth and the fifth innings before OBU got on the board with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to close the gap to 7-3.
 
The Tigers would tack on one more run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Storm would hold off a rally and pick up the 7-4 victory.